Some questions about doing track days. What tyres are people using for track days? Is it worth trying slicks? I’ll be getting another bike for most of my road use and so I could just set this up for the track if I want to do so but I suspect the tyres that the SP2 came with are perfectly good for track days or is something else recommended. Tyre warmers? Ramps? Anything else to consider? Maybe different fairings so I don’t trash the originals? Any recommendations (I’m in the EU). I also wonder if different wheels would be a good idea for track use - I imagine these wheels would be rather expensive to replace but I’m also not sure what the chances of damage are on track. Transporting the bike - I’ll probably rent a van to start with so is there a front wheel dock (or whatever it’s called) that can fit temporarily? I seem to recall seeing something with extendable sides so it could lock in place and not require permanent fixing. I don’t have a vehicle with a tow bar. Any other tips and things to consider?
Unless you are quick enough to keep heat in the,, don’t bother with slicks imho. Sticky road rubber is easily good enough and may last a bit better. Road tyres make warmers less essential, but warmers do give confidence from the off (unless your held for 10 min before they let you on track!) and keep fewer heat cycles in the tyres which is supposed to help the rubber Front and rear stands. Leave a side stand on, amazing how much ore difficult the whole experience is if you have no side stand! Track fairings are a good idea imho. As much because of the knocking and bashing in transport and just around the paddock as actually crashing! Most chocks work independently: ram up against the bolt head and strap to the sides. Check out whatever you rent has tie down points, often not being ply lined gives you more options ime
@bradders Thanks for that - useful tips. The bike has Supercorsa SP tyres and they seemed good on the road. I wasn’t sure about track use with them but I think they are probably very good from what I have read. I’d read something somewhere about keeping heat in slicks but had forgotten. I can always try slicks later if I feel I’m going fast enough to benefit. Tyre warmers seem a good idea for the reasons you mentioned.
An extension lead with the round blue industrial type plug on one end comes in very handy especially if your not first into the garage.
We use these at work to save to hassle of a dedicated reel, I bought mine from toolstation https://www.toolstation.com/fly-lead-socket-convertor/p91715.
Don't try to "win". If someone overtakes you, they are faster than you, let them go, do not think "right , I'll get you back next corner" that results in pain/expenses. Relax. Breathe. You are mortal. It's meant to be "fun".
Good advice and I do understand that track days are not racing. I’m not new to track days - just to taking a bike on track. As I read on a forum just a few minutes ago - it’s about fun times, not lap times.
What? I thought the idea was to practise stuffing it up the inside of other riders at every opportunity. Not often you get to do that on the roads! On a more serious note, if your bike has a dry clutch, take some spare plates. Non-friction to allow the pack height to be adjusted, friction to get you out of trouble on the third day when it starts to slip in unwelcome areas on the circuit.
My bike does have a dry clutch. It’s only got 1,000km of road use on it and that was running the engine in. As for the technical part… that was all Greek to me. The bike has a quick shifter up and down if it’s relevant, so how long should a dry clutch last with average speed trackday use?
Don’t bother with slicks just yet. Tyre warmers, yes. There’s some very sporty road rubber that’s excellent. And as said already, it’ll be cheaper and last longer. I use slicks but faster riders still come flying past me on road rubber.
Personally I can’t be arsed with the hassle of tyre warmers - as I am just at a trackday for fun I feel they are just an extra thing to worry about (power leads, stands, putting them on/taking them off etc). I am happy to warm the tyres by doing a lap or two before getting up to speed. Likelihood is that if you use warmers the tyres will cool down while you wait in the pit lane queue anyway. I always use Supercorsa SC0/1/2 or Racetec K0/1/2 - grippier than I will ever need but give me the confidence needed to not need to worry that they will let go. As before - the main thing is to have fun and not get anxious about lap times.
The warmers for me prevent twitchy sphincter into turn 1. I don’t hang about on the outlap but I don’t go banzai either. If I’m going out cold I obviously build it up over 2-3 laps. Warmers cut that faff out…
Most, where they had WSBK this year, is 1 hour away and Brno is about 2 hours away. RSE are doing a 3-day event at each location next year (the ones with Troy Corser). I’d like to do at least one of them.
Here is my precious, beautiful (to me) garage queen being given a right thrashing at Portimao last weekend. How did this happen I hear you ask? The Duc that was meant to go didn't show up, so this was the last minute dot com option. Took the indicators off, taped up the headlight, removed number plate, brake guard, stuck on a tape saying "road shift", ABS setting 1, TC setting 2. Sighting laps made it clear the road Metzlers were useless. Changed immediately for Metzler TD slicks on warmers. Cracked a few 2:03s and was not unhappy. Now changing fork internals for Ohlins or K-Tech. New brake MC. Race pads. Rear sets to improve ground clearance and race shift. Ohlins TTX on the rear. So, what it tells me is, a road bike has limited performance for a track and needs numerous upgrades to cope with track dynamics.
Nice for it to get spanked. Doesn’t my SP2 come with the required upgrades to perform well on track? I always preferred race shift and did it to this bike as well - it feels more natural and intuitive to me for some reason.
